1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a cleaning method, assembly, and system for cleaning media used in media processing devices. Specifically, the present invention is directed to a double-sided printable media cleaning apparatus and method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional feed devices are used for feeding or transporting stock materials such as plastic cards, paper, and the like. For example, a typical printer defines a feed path along which stock is transported during printing. Rollers are disposed along the feed path and oriented generally perpendicular to the feed direction of the stock. The rollers are typically configured in pairs to define nips for engaging the stock in the feed path so that rotation of the rollers causes the stock to be fed or transported along the path.
It is known that debris such as dust, oil, moisture, ink, and the like can be introduced into the feed path and can interfere with the operation of the feeding or other processing of the stock. For example, if rollers are used to transport the stock through the feed path, the debris can interfere with the frictional engagement between the rollers and the stock. Further, in the case of a printer, the debris can interfere with the operation of the printing mechanism therein. For example, a card printer for thermally printing plastic cards can include a printhead that disposes dye onto the cards, a magnetic head that programs a magnetic strip on the card, a smart card contact station with an electrical contact that contacts a conductive pad on the card to communicate with a chip on the card, and/or a lamination mechanism with heat rollers that applies laminates to the surfaces of the card. The operation of the printhead, the magnetic head, the smart card contact station, and the lamination mechanism can be compromised by the presence of debris in the printer, thereby having a negative impact on the quality of the printed product.
In conventional cleaning operations, printable media such as cards that are normally fed through the device are substituted with a cleaning card. Such cleaning cards are typically fed through the printer in a conventional manner and are generally similar in size to stock printable media. A typical cleaning card has a plastic core layer that is sandwiched between layers of felt that are soaked with isopropyl alcohol or the like so that the rollers and/or the heads of the printer are cleaned as the cleaning card is fed through the printer. By routinely feeding such a cleaning card through the printer, the feed path can be cleaned to maintain the proper operation of the printer. However, if the cleaning operation is not performed, or is performed with insufficient frequency, the printer will not be kept clean. In some cases, an operator of the printer may neglect the cleaning operation in order to avoid the time or expense associated with the cleaning operation. In addition, while the printer may include a display that prompts the operator regarding the cleaning operation, the prompts can be confusing and frustrating to the user, resulting in additional delay or neglect in cleaning. For example, the operator might use a cleaning card that has already been used, or the operator may perform the cleaning operation using a piece of stock material instead of the cleaning card.
Another drawback to conventional media cleaning operations of the type described above is that they typically do not prevent initial contamination of the media feed path. Rather, they simply allow dust and other contaminants located on the opposed surfaces of the print media to be re-deposited at various locations as the printable media is driven along the media feed path. Cleaning cards are fed through the device only after multiple units of print media have been processed with contaminant deposits in place. In this regard, such media cleaning operations inherently provide lower levels of media processing performance than would be possible if such contaminants were isolated from the media path altogether.
Another conventional cleaning operation involves using a cleaning station located upstream from a printing station to clean a first surface of a media unit prior to printing on the first surface. The media unit is then flipped and an opposed surface of the media unit is cleaned prior printing on the opposed surface. However, this configuration requires a complex flipping mechanism that not only adds cost to the printer, but also requires the media unit to make two separate passes through the cleaning and printing stations. This increases the time it takes to process each media unit and thereby decreases the overall throughput of the printer.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved apparatus and method for isolating dust, debris, oils, and other contaminants from the feed path of a media feed device. The apparatus and method should provide effective cleaning of opposed surfaces of a printable media, thereby isolating sensitive media processing operations within the device from contamination. In addition, the apparatus and method should be automatically performed and have little or no negative effect on throughput of the media feed device.